Gadgets 2008

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 10:09PM
It’s a UMPC! It’s a MID! It’s a multifaceted PMP that relies on Windows CE 5.0! Whatever it is, the Nurian Avatar F1 comes touting a 5.8- x 3- x 1-inch chassis and isn’t likely to stray too far from South Korea. The PMP conglomerate not only plays back MPEG1/2/4, DivX, XviD, WMV, OGG and MP3 files, it also defines words, tunes into mobile TV (DMB) broadcasts and outputs video via the component dongle. You’ll also find a 4.3-inch WQVGA display, USB socket, a built-in equalizer and an integrated mic for good measure. Take a wild guess at the price, chances are you’ll be in the neighborhood (minus the flight to Seoul).

[Via Pocketables]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

The Chococlock will definitely be a firm favorite with chocolate lovers, as it functions just like how a cuckoo clock does, opening up its doors to serve up a piece of chocolate each hour.

This stylish retro-modern timepiece is a bit like a cuckoo clock but when its shutters open, on the hour every hour, it delivers a scrumptious chocolate treat to the tune of the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’. You then have 30 seconds to retrieve your reward before the clock snatches it back. Loo break? Forget it. An ideal gift for the chocoholic with everything, the Chococlock is bound to become a must-have accessory for executive diet-dodgers everywhere. Simply fill it with your favorite bite-size sweeties (Maltesers, Revels, Minstrels, M&Ms) and wait for the big hand to reach that magical number twelve.

As with many other things in life, rules can be bent, and the same applies to the Chococlock. This nifty timekeeper comes with a cheat button that delivers a treat whenever you press it. The Chococlock can hold around 30 pieces of small chocolates, and the fact that it comes in pink only would mean the female demographic is the primary target. Surprise your secretary today with this £19.95 gift.

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by Darren Murph, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 3:09PM
We’re not even going to front — we had all but forgotten about Erector’s Spykee. Granted, it didn’t do itself any favors by showing off at CES and then doing nothing for the next seven months, but we digress. If a pre-order page on Amazon is to be believed, the Spykee Spy Robot should be released on October 15th. It’s sporting a hefty $299.99 price tag and a recommended age of 8-years and up, but we’ll need to see some actual shipment notifications later this fall before we really get our hopes up. C’mon Erector, don’t let us, um, down.

[Via I4U News]

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Filed under: Robots

If you tend to be the thing that goes bump in the night as you fumble around trying to get to your destination without waking anyone, you might need a better way to get around.  This little light is motion sensing, portable and only comes on at night.  It is also free standing, so you can set it down to make your midnight snack and not have to keep the fridge open for a bit of lighting.  It is battery powered and to save batteries after sensing motion you can set it to turn off anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes.

Which gives you plenty of time before it kicks off, hopefully the sensor is good enough to easily pick you up.  There’s nothing like seeing someone in a bathrobe and overly slept in hair, jumping around like a lunatic to get their night light to kick on.  If you have children you could leave one in their closet to prove that there are no monsters in it either.  Then you both can scream like girls when a shoe shifts and kicks the light on anyway.  The night light is being sold for $24.99 on Smarthome.

Source: Ubergizmo

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by Darren Murph, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 1:04PM
Not like Lenovo has been keeping this duo on the DL or anything, but the potent W500 and W700 are now available to order. Hailed as the company’s “most powerful notebooks ever,” the 15.4-inch W500 gets going from $1,629 with a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 CPU, Vista Home Premium, a WSXGA+ display, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, ATI’s 512MB Mobility FireGL V5700, a 100GB HDD, DVD combo drive, WiFi and a 6-cell battery. Overshadowing that is the 17-inch W700, which starts at $2,978 and features a WXGA+ display, T9400 CPU, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA’s 512MB Quadro FX-2700 and a 160GB hard drive. The W500 should ship within 1 to 2 weeks, while the W700 isn’t expected to head your way for a solid month. No worries — that gives you plenty of time to save up for the $1,275 QX9300 Core 2 Extreme option.

[Via 32packets]

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Filed under: Laptops

The Chococlock will definitely be a firm favorite with chocolate lovers, as it functions just like how a cuckoo clock does, opening up its doors to serve up a piece of chocolate each hour.

This stylish retro-modern timepiece is a bit like a cuckoo clock but when its shutters open, on the hour every hour, it delivers a scrumptious chocolate treat to the tune of the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’. You then have 30 seconds to retrieve your reward before the clock snatches it back. Loo break? Forget it. An ideal gift for the chocoholic with everything, the Chococlock is bound to become a must-have accessory for executive diet-dodgers everywhere. Simply fill it with your favorite bite-size sweeties (Maltesers, Revels, Minstrels, M&Ms) and wait for the big hand to reach that magical number twelve.

As with many other things in life, rules can be bent, and the same applies to the Chococlock. This nifty timekeeper comes with a cheat button that delivers a treat whenever you press it. The Chococlock can hold around 30 pieces of small chocolates, and the fact that it comes in pink only would mean the female demographic is the primary target. Surprise your secretary today with this £19.95 gift.

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The Nano is one of the more popular iPods to work out with, yes the shuffle is nice, but I hate that I can’t see a list of songs.  Plus it of course holds less than the Nano.  Well to keep the Nano on you while working out you can’t really pop it in your pocket, but there is the option of the armband.  However, armbands can be obnoxious to some people, it’s a preference thing really.  There isn’t any distinct reason that they would be bad, but some do consider them uncomfortable.  Well the iStik offers a new way to keep your Nano on you while doing your daily physical activities.

It utilizes magnets to keep it attached to you and the iPod secure.  Obviously since it does use a magnet you don’t want to use it if you have a pacemaker.  You also probably want to keep it away from your computer as well, they warn that it might damage your hard drive.  They specify that it should stay six inches away at all times.  There are two different versions, one for the 2nd Gen Nano for $24.95 and then one for the 3rd Gen Nano for $26.95.

Source: CrunchGear

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Add some spice into your kid’s bedroom with the Glowpets Nightlights from Prezzybox. After all, they’ll definitely bring some comfort to little ones who are afraid of the dark.

Glowpets night lights are soft, luminous animal night-lights that reassure young children with their comforting glow. These soft animals slowly change colour through pinks and greens, oranges and reds! Glowing gently they take the black out of the night and make a rainbow of the evening. They are made specifically for young children in mind with low-consuming LED’s so the Glowpets don’t get hot. Your little treasures can carry Glowpet with them wherever they choose.

You will be able to choose from Bunny, Kitten and Elephant designs, each retailing for £19.95.

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by Darren Murph, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 1:04PM
Not like Lenovo has been keeping this duo on the DL or anything, but the potent W500 and W700 are now available to order. Hailed as the company’s “most powerful notebooks ever,” the 15.4-inch W500 gets going from $1,629 with a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 CPU, Vista Home Premium, a WSXGA+ display, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, ATI’s 512MB Mobility FireGL V5700, a 100GB HDD, DVD combo drive, WiFi and a 6-cell battery. Overshadowing that is the 17-inch W700, which starts at $2,978 and features a WXGA+ display, T9400 CPU, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA’s 512MB Quadro FX-2700 and a 160GB hard drive. The W500 should ship within 1 to 2 weeks, while the W700 isn’t expected to head your way for a solid month. No worries — that gives you plenty of time to save up for the $1,275 QX9300 Core 2 Extreme option.

[Via 32packets]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Steven Kim, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 8:06AM
With apologies to Shakespeare, something is brewing at VUDU. With CEDIA just around the corner, the company has laid off some of its staff, most notably some of its marketing higher-ups. Additionally, rumors are swirling regarding just about every aspect of the upstart company’s future. CEPro got some talk-time with the VUDU’s national dealer channel manager, and a theme of decreased emphasis on the retail channel seems to run throughout the conversation, punctuated by a end-of-life status on the VUDU X100. Meanwhile, the company is making some CEDIA promises for its custom-install-targeted VUDU XL: more HD content (1,000 titles), more connectivity (HD over component) and lifetime warranties on purchased titles. It’s all rumor, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see VUDU move exclusively into the custom-install market where it seems to have a toe-hold. So what say ye — is something rotten in VUDU, or should we hang up the codpiece and get back to work?

[Image courtesy Blog of Wishes]

Read - CEPro’s VUDU interview
Read - VUDU CEDIA plans

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment